Resolution Audio
is something of a cult. This small, San Francisco-based company made several CD players,
but decided to stop manufacturing for two years while bringing the Opus 21 to market. I
checked their web site, and was very impressed with what they are trying to do. Resolution
sells direct now, with a thirty-day, in-home audition. If you don't like the Opus 21, you
can return it for a 5% restocking charge. After talking to Jeff at Resolution, I decided
to order one. That was back in March. Jeff anticipated they would be shipping in April,
but as with any new product, there were problems. Although Resolution wanted to use a
slot-loaded, CD ROM-based drive, they found it was not suited for use in an audio
component. This necessitated a redesign of the box. Jeff called to keep me informed and to
make sure I was still interested. Finally, in June, I got a call informing me that the
Opus 21 was on the way via FedEx Ground service. It arrived the next day, very nicely
packed in a fitted wooden crate.

The Opus 21 is
a unique, two-box design incorporating the power supply and display in one box and the
transport and DAC in the second. This is intended to isolate the transport from EMI noise
from the display and power supply. The DAC also has an external digital input for another
source, such as DVD. The Opus 21 has four Burr Brown D/A converters, and is set to
permanently upsample to 96/24 kHz. The volume control has 98 steps. A very familiar
plastic remote with just fourteen buttons, but no direct track access, is included. The
odd size of the units (approximately 9.5 inches) means that they will not fit side by side
on most racks.

Upon powering
up, the Opus 21's large blue LED matrix display comes on and, accompanied by a Star
Wars-like chirping sound, begins initializing. The opening and closing of the drawer is
very fast, as is the TOC reading, so you are ready to hear music in blinding speed. My
audition took place with the following equipment over a period of over two weeks: Plinius
8200 integrated amp, Plinius SA-102 power amp, used direct, and the Plinius CD-LAD, used
in combination with the SA-102. Speakers were Alon Capris and my own DIY two-ways, which
have Scan Speak 8545/9500 drivers and a first-order serial crossover. My speakers are very
smooth and detailed, and were extraordinarily well matched with the Opus 21. Also on hand
for comparison was a Cary 306/200, my favorite CD player (until now).

Let me get one
thing out of the waythe Opus 21 does have a somewhat irritating whine when a CD is
in the drive. This is audible when no music is playing, but is drowned out when in use.
Perhaps Resolution should look into putting some noise insulation in the box. After
leaving the Opus on for the first few days, I first connected the Opus 21 and the Cary
into different inputs on the Plinius integrated, and put in Keiko Matsui's Deep Blue.
Matsui is a so-called "smooth jazz" pianist and this, in my opinion, is her best
CD to date. The Opus sounded very, very good. I listened to three tracks, then switched to
the Cary, making sure the volume was the same (difficult until I switched back to the Opus
and readjusted it to compensate and listened again). The two players are very similar in
sound, but vary in texture. Bass is quite good in botha sign of a good power supply,
although the Opus 21 is much smaller and lighter. Most of the time, a blindfolded person
would find it hard to discern which player they were hearing, but when the music hits the
high notes, the differences become more evident.

The Opus 21 is
more lifelike and realistic in its high-frequency presentation. A piano key sounds
organic, a steel string sounds like steel, and so on. It was not until I heard the Opus 21
that I even realized that this quality is missing from every other CD player I have heard,
including the Cary. Because of this, I put the Cary into its upsampling mode and listened
again. The 306/200, while very musical and accurate, is harsher than the Opus 21. The
difference is subtle, and most listeners (myself included) will not notice it unless they
experience the two players side by side. The Cary may have more "punch, but the
Opus 21 is more emotional. The clarity of the Opus 21 is startling. On quite a few CDs, I
was able to clearly understand lyrics I was never able to discern before. This occurred on
Norah Jones' debut album, as well as on Vanessa Mae's Storm, where she sings in
French. For once, I was able to hear it clearly enough to translate the words.

The Cary has
HDCD decoding while the Opus does not, so I was unable to compare them on HDCD-encoded
discs. I didn't miss HDCD at all on the Opus 21. Plus, when you turn on the upsampling on
the Cary, the HDCD seems to be defeated anyway. I finally gave up on the Cary and just
enjoyed the Opus 21. I listened to Norah Jones all over again. "Seven Years,"
"Come Away With Me, and especially "I've Got To See You Again"
sounded like new arrangements. The goosebump factor of the Opus 21 makes it worth many
times its asking price. Is it perfect? No. The remote has no direct track access, and it
balked at one or two CDs, but after I opened and closed the drawer a few times, it finally
agreed to play them. That whirring noise will bother some people, though I find it barely
noticeable. At $3000, or even twice that price, the Opus 21 is probably the best CD player
on the market. I will not be returning mine. Ed Morawski